I have been hooked on ADV for almost a year now. Here is my first ride report.

-A little about me and my bike

I am 36 years old, like to ride dirt and street, and do all my own wrenching. Till now the longest ride I had been on was a multiday trip from Arizona to Arkansas in 1999. I was on a Ducati 900 Monster and the purpose of the trip was to visit family and attend a Rally in Eureka Springs AR. It was a good ride but the Ducati is not really a touring bike in my opinion. So I never went on any longer trips until I bought my R1200S last year. The R1200S in not really a touring bike either, but I find it to be comfortable and offer some wind protection. It works great for me.
This trip the BMW and I went to Paonia, Colorado to attend the Top of the Rockies rally. I would also meet my brother there, and some folks I have met through another board focusing on the BMW R1100S/R1200S.

-The Route

There are a few roads I wanted to ride from Sierra Vista to Paonia. One is HWY 180 up the western side of NM. I have ridden 191 in AZ a few times, and since I am trying to make time I decided to take the less twisty but still fun 180. I also wanted to ride the million dollar highway from Durango CO to Montrose. It is US 550 and is truly a wonderful ride. On the way home Moab and Monument Valley are on the list.

Day 1

So I made my way from Sierra Vista AZ to Paonia CO in 1.5 days. I spent the night at the Cottonwood campground near Farmington NM and the Navajo Dam.

I rolled out of Sierra Vista AZ early for me, about 0900. I am not a morning person so I don’t generally get on the road at the crack of dawn.

I took a few pictures along the way, here are some views of the desert southwest during monsoon season, note how green the desert is. This lasts till mid September, and then it dries out again.

Here is my camp site. The camping area was hard to find due to the lack of signs, but it was a nice place near the river.

The first day of riding was hot, I did not take a lot of pictures. I will post up more pictures of the rally, and sites around Paonia tomorrow. Paonia is in a beautiful part of the country.